Okay, so I know there's really no excuse for my absence on Patch lately, but I swear to you I had a post ready back in early September. It was titled, "Commuting Hell or High Water," and gave a glimpse into my three-hour (each way) daily ride into the city, all thanks to Hurricane Irene. In all honesty, while at the time I thought that was a major inconvenience to say the least, I never expected it to get any worse! The freak snowstorm just a few weeks ago was not just a natural disaster – it was a complete and chaotic crisis! Rather than focusing on the negatives (no electricity, damages, lots of shoveling), I wanted to spin this and use it as an opportunity to reflect on what positives I learned from this experience. Yeah, I know – who needs another “the glass is half empty, half full” post – but seriously hear me out because, coming from a cynical New York commuter like me, this is a HUGE revelation.
On Saturday Oct. 29, I was supposed to go watch Rutgers take on West Virginia. I stubbornly headed out at 1 p.m. into the thick of the storm with the justification that it was an important game for Rutgers, Eric LeGrand was leading the team out and the tickets were already paid for...what a big mistake. I was sliding all over the place and found that most of the local roads leading to the highways were blocked anyway! When I tried to head back home I managed to get my car stuck in a ditch and was forced to abandon it and walk the rest of the way. Apparently in the process of trying to get it unstuck, I realized the next day (when it was spring-like weather) that I also managed to mess up the alignment. This past Saturday I brought my car to ETD (Kinnelon Road/Route 23 intersection) and it was discovered that not only were two of my tires nearly bald (which explained the lack of traction), but my battery was also low (which explained why it took longer for my car to start). No, I wasn’t happy that I had to spend a good amount of money and time fixing up my car on a beautiful Saturday morning, but I was relieved that the minor problems led to proactively fixing potentially major ones.
It was around that time that the power in my house also went out (and wouldn’t return until several days later). We never lost electricity for more than a few hours so we also didn’t have a generator as back-up. I learned several things from this: 1. Electricity was an awesome discovery, 2. No light equates to more sleep, 3. It’s time to go to the local hardware store to invest in a decent generator.
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Finally, the most wonderful outcome of all this was that I got to witness human nature at its finest. During this entire ordeal, the outpour of kindness was amazing. Our neighbors offered us assistance. My brother opened his doors to my other brother and myself. Some family friends were able to watch my dog for a few days so that he had a warm house to stay. Some of my friends let me crash on their couches for a few nights so that I was able to still shower and get ready for work. We were out of power for a total of four days, so we really relied on the kindness of others. It’s never comfortable asking for help, and in fact it’s really quite humbling, but I believe it’s in those moments that people show their true colors. It was truly a beautiful realization to know how blessed I am to have such wonderful people in my life. Don’t get me wrong, I always knew that my family and friends are all amazing people, but I guess I just didn’t realize to what degree!